Euro near lifetime high against pound

The pound tumbled further against the euro yesterday, with the single currency climbing to an intra-day high of 80.6p which was within 0.4p of its 80.97p lifetime high in April.

	SMG reduces level of debt by more than 90%
	SMG yesterday posted a pre-tax profit of £4.2m in the first half of 2008 and said it has reduced its massive debt mountain by more than 90%.

Venture hungry for more North Sea assets

Mike Wagstaff, chief executive of Venture Production, said the North Sea-focused oil and gas firm was hungry to buy more assets in the mature province after achieving record profits in the first half.

Havelock Europa ‘solid’ on retail and education

Havelock Europa, the Fife-based shopfitting-to-school-furniture group, said trade was bearing up despite tough times for the key retail and banking sectors.

Package maker in confident mood

Macfarlane Group said yesterday that its first-half, pre-tax profit more than doubled and it is confident it can cope with the effects of a general economic downturn.

Melrose Resources recovers from last year’s Bulgarian setbacks

Melrose Resources surged back into the black in the first half when strong growth in output helped the firm put last year’s exploration reverses in Bulgaria behind it.

Factory closure checks profits growth at Devro

Sausage-skin maker Devro saw its first-half sales sizzle, but pre-tax profits fell after it was hit by a £3.1m charge related to the closure of a factory in the Czech Republic, the company’s latest accounts reveal.

Downturn sees Forth Ports defer property spend

Forth Ports, the Scottish ports-to-property business, yesterday unveiled a 38% surge in underlying pre-tax profit and said it had deferred almost 70% of its spending on property development because of the downturn in the market.

BenRiach Distillery buys up Aberdeenshire firm

Glendronach distillery in Aberdeenshire has been sold, it was announced yesterday.

Aer Lingus blames fuel costs for loss

Irish airline Aer Lingus yesterday reported an operating loss of €22.3m (£17.8m) in the first half of this year, hit by a jump of almost 50% in its fuel costs and a slowdown in consumer spending.

Stagecoach reports sharp rise in revenues

Scottish transport group Stagecoach today said profits since May were higher than expected after a sharp rise in revenues at its bus division.

Boardroom shake-up aims to satisfy Royal shareholders

Royal Bank of Scotland yesterday unveiled a boardroom shake-up aimed at satisfying shareholder demands – adding three non-executive directors with international financial sector experience.

	Standard and Poor’s warns of UK’s greater recession risk
	International credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s warned yesterday that the UK was “more exposed to a true recession than the Eurozone considered as a whole”.

Writedown pushes Johnston Press deep into red

A mammoth £109m write-down related to the declining worth of its titles pushed regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press, the owner of the Scotsman and Evening News, deep into the red, the group’s latest financial results revealed yesterday.

What we need Mr Bean, is more debate and less finger crossing

Alf Young on Thursday: For a man who openly admits “we have our fingers crossed”, the Bank of England’s new deputy governor with responsibility for monetary policy, is showing a tendency to spout some dangerously mixed messages about the economic challenges we currently face.

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